Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood have shared statements on the Maui wildfires, which have left at least 80 dead and have devastated the town of Lahaina and its surrounding areas. Nicks owns a house nearby, and on Saturday afternoon she posted a message on social media reflecting on the disaster.

“There was no way to know that this amazing town that had survived so much for so long would burn down and disappear into the history books, leaving so much sadness, destruction, and death behind it in its wake,” Nicks wrote. “This island, in so many ways, defines Fleetwood Mac and me and our families.”

“The Lahaina that we knew~ The Lahaina that in many ways connect Fleetwood Mac and our music to the world, is gone,” she went on. “But my memories of everything that happened to me there is clear as a bell.”

Here’s her full statement:

As I am sure you have heard – the island, Maui, where I own a house I have been staying at since the 80s — and the small village, city, most magical place on earth, Lahaina, burned to the ground over the last few days. And to make the situation worse my young niece, her husband, and their little boy had just arrived for a very needed vacation before she started up her school year (on her way to becoming a psychologist) for 10 days. They had one and a half days of fun and then – the fire started. The power went out at 5:12am (Tuesday morning) but they had no idea why – It was still out at noon, realizing that many surrounding houses had also lost power. It was a mystery. My house is 15 to 20 minutes from Lahaina – but still no one knew about the fire. We knew here in Houston, but there was no way to get Jessi (my niece) on the phone. The entire area of Lahaina and everything around it was down. But here in Houston… we knew.

There was no way to know that this amazing town that had survived so much for so long would burn down and disappear into the history books, leaving so much sadness, destruction, and death behind it in its wake. This island, in so many ways, defines Fleetwood Mac and me and our families. Mick and I came here in 1978, went up to Kula to look at a huge, beautiful house and stood in front of it listening to the gentle magical wind. He said to me ~ “I will live and die on this island.” I knew he was telling the truth. John also lived here in Maui for a long time – Christine never lived here but visited many times.

My truth was that I wanted a house here just so I could spend time in Lahaina walking the streets; visiting the art galleries~ sitting on the rock wall~ Most all the opals I wear on my fingers came from a store on Front Street. I hope the sweet lady who owned that store was able to grab all her opals and run. I hope she made it out.

Over the next two days we managed to get Jessi and her family back to us. They put their little boy (he’s 6) in the back seat with an iPad so he would not see the devastation on the drive up past Lahaina to the airport. But they saw it ~ and Jessi and her husband Alec are devastated. Now that they are back in LA and seeing the news coverage ~ they are totally freaked out. The escaped a bullet. My house and the surrounding area was not burned. The wind took the fire in a different direction. It was all about the wind. Jessi said there were three doves at the house the whole time. There have never been doves there, ever. The end result could have been very different.

The Lahaina that we knew~ The Lahaina that in many ways connect Fleetwood Mac and our music to the world, is gone. But my memories of everything that happened to me there is clear as a bell. I will still walk those streets ~ still watch the sunset from the many cool restaurants that we drove in to see every night ~ I will see Mr. Fleetwood’s beautiful new restaurant rebuilt and sparkling in the middle of Front Street – I will remember meeting Sharon Celani, my sweet singer, at the Blue Max in 1979. In my dreams I will see Lahaina from the ocean ~ beckoning all those who are on boats back to the marina where the Pioneer Inn waits, and the Banyan Tree dances in the wind~

Lahaina is not gone~
It is just away~

With Aloha, Stevie Nicks

As Nicks mentions in her message, Mick Fleetwood opened a restaurant in Lahaina called Fleetwood’s On Front St. in 2012. It has been destroyed in the fires, he revealed in an Instagram post a few days ago. “MAUl and The Lahaina community have been my home for several decades,” Fleetwood wrote. “This is a devastating moment for MAUl and many are suffering unimaginable loss.” He continued:

Fleetwoods on front Street has been lost and while we are heartbroken our main priority is the safety of our dear staff and team members. On behalf of myself and my family I share my heartfelt thoughts and prayers for the people of MAUI. We are committed to supporting the community and those affected by this disaster in the days month and years to come
– Mick Fleetwood